Infantile Hepatic Hemangioendothelioma in an Adult / 대한내과학회지

Infantile hepatic hemangioendothelioma is a rare disorder. It is a benign entity and usually resolves spontaneously. Most patients present in infancy and early childhood. Because of its natural course and symptom onset, most cases are discovered during childhood. We experienced a rare case of infantile hepatic hemangioendothelioma in an adult.

Recurrent Mesalazine-Induced Myopericarditis in a Patient with Ulcerative Colitis

Inflammatory bowel disease (IBD) is considered as a dysregulated immune mediated disease. Pericarditis in IBD is a very rare disease both as an extra-intestinal manifestation of IBD and an adverse reaction of therapeutic drug for IBD such as mesalazine or sulfasalazine. A 26-year-old IBD male patient who had been taking mesalazine regularly for about 1 month was referred to our hospital because of fever, chest discomfort, and abnormal electrocardiographic findings. The patients was diagnosed as acute myopericarditis, and recovered after cessation of mesalazine using steroid and aspirin. When mesalazine was re-medicated some days after discharge, he suffered from myopericarditis again. Subsequently, myopericarditis was resolved just after cessation of mesalazine again. These findings suggest that the development of myopericarditis is caused by mesalazine.

A Case of Acute Pancreatitis after Endoscopic Biopsy in Congenital Pancreatic Duct Anomalies / 대한내과학회지

Congenital anomalies or normal variants of the pancreatic duct are in most cases asymptomatic and are found incidentally while conducting imaging studies (such as a MRCP and a CT scan) for other reasons. The frequency of pancreatic duct variants has been reported to be about 9% of the general population; the most common type is a bifid configuration of the major and minor pancreatic ducts. Though most patients with pancreatic duct variants do not have any symptoms, a small number may develop jaundice or gallstones. By reporting the case of a patient with a variant pancreatic duct who developed acute pancreatitis after undergoing screening endoscopy and biopsy, this study aims to warn of the possible risks of screening endoscopy or biopsy in the second portion of the duodenum.

A Case of Intra-Abdominal Kikuchi's Disease with Increased FDG Uptake on PET-CT that Mimicked Intra-Abdominal Lymphoma / 감염과화학요법

Kikuchi's disease is a benign disease characterized mainly by fever and cervical lymphadenitis. We report a case of Kikuchi's disease that manifested as intra-abdominal lymphadenitis. A 39 year old woman presented with fever that had persisted for one week. Her history and physical examination were unremarkable. The laboratory findings revealed mild leukopenia and increased C-reactive protein. Abdominal CT revealed multiple lymph node enlargements in the mesenteric root and around the ileocecal valve. Positron emission tomography-computed tomography (PET-CT) revealed increased 18-fluoro-deoxyglucose(FDG) uptake in the lymph nodes observed by abdominal CT. A laparoscopic excisional biopsy of the lymph node was performed for a confirmatory diagnosis and the pathology findings were compatible with Kikuchi's disease. Although intra-abdominal Kikuchi's disease is a rare disease, it should be considered in a differential diagnosis of intra-abdominal lymphadenopathy with increased FDG uptake on PET-CT.

Huge Hepatocellular Carcinoma Abruptly Developed within 3 Months / 영남의대학술지

Hepatocellular carcinoma (HCC) is the second leading cause of cancer-related deaths in South Korea. To decrease its mortality rate, its early detection is very important. Screening for HCC detection has been accepted as the management modality for patients with chronic liver disease. Reported herein is a case involving the marked rapid growth of HCC detected at an advanced stage in a screening test with a 3 months interval. A 49-year-old male patient with chronic hepatitis B was admitted to the hospital due to a liver mass detected on CT scan. The patient underwent a first CT scan 3 months earlier, and no tumor was detected. Follow-up CT scan was performed and showed a 9.1 cm HCC with portal vein thrombosis. Percutaneous liver biopsy was performed, and the diagnosis of hepatocellular carcinoma was confirmed. In the pertinent guidelines, the recommended screening interval for HCC is 6-12 months, but the screening interval and additional diagnostic methods should be considered due to the variation in the HCC growth rate according to the patient's clinical characteristics.

Retrospective Analysis on the Efficacy, Safety and Treatment Failure Group of Sitagliptin for Mean 10-Month Duration

BACKGROUND: To investigate the clinical results of sitagliptin (SITA) and the characteristics of the treatment failure group or of low responders to SITA. METHODS: A retrospective study of type 2 diabetic patients reviewed 99 cases, including 12 treatment failure cases, who stopped SITA because of worsening patients' condition, and 87 cases, who continued treatment over five visits (total 9.9+/-10.1 months) after receiving the prescription of SITA from December 2008 to June 2009. Subjects were classified as five groups administered SITA as an initial combination with metformin (MET), add-on to metformin or sulfonylurea, and switching from sulfonylurea or thiazolidinedione. The changes in HbA1c level from the first to last visit (DeltaHbA1c) in treatment maintenance group were subanalyzed. RESULTS: The HbA1c level was significantly reduced in four groups, including initial coadministration of SITA with metformin (DeltaHbA1c=-1.1%, P<0.001), add-on to MET (DeltaHbA1c=-0.6%, P=0.017), add-on to sulfonylurea (DeltaHbA1c=-0.5%, P<0.001), and switching from thiazolidinedione (DeltaHbA1c=-0.3%, P=0.013). SITA was noninferior to sulfonlyurea (DeltaHbA1c=-0.2%, P=0.63). There was no significant adverse effect. The treatment failure group had a longer diabeties duration (P=0.008), higher HbA1c (P=0.001) and fasting plasma glucose (P=0.003) compared to the maintenance group. Subanalysis on the tertiles of DeltaHbA1c showed that low-response to SITA (tertile 1) was associated with a longer diabetes duration (P=0.009) and lower HbA1c (P<0.001). CONCLUSION: SITA was effective and safe for use in Korean type 2 diabetic patients. However, its clinical responses and long-term benefit-harm profile is yet to be established.